Precipice of Tomorrow
by cartoonanimespazz15
Summary: The world stands on the edge of an abyss; war is surely imminent. Six students make their way through the daily routine of university with all its rigours and stresses. How does one worry for good grades when the world itself may not exist tomorrow? An ominous future looms on the horizon. As they struggle to adapt to such an uncertainty, something feels terribly wrong...


Chapter 1.

With the frequent threats of nuclear attacks and weapons of mass destruction, one would wonder why anyone would want to continue their enducation past secondary. Despite that, mans quest for knowledge will always get the better of him, even in the face of danger. Starting on what seemed a normal Tuesday, the usual gang were due to their history class. Anne, Marceline and Ben all walked in, taking their usual seats as they continued their various conversations of other classes, classmates and the like. They each warmly greeted their history teacher, Dr. Simon Petrikov, who reciprocrated. He wondered where the other two of their group had been but quickly remembered that Bonnibel always ran late from her experiments in the chemistry lab. Finn would be coming in a tad late from his pre-season football game, which his coach had informed him of prior.

Annabelle or Anne, as most would normally call her, apologized for her younger sister's lateness. Bonnibel had a habit of prioritizing her science classes over everything else. She convinced her to take this history class to broaden her horizons and knowledge. This was an intense class; to miss even the first ten minutes of a lecture had the potential to drastically effect one's chances in a test. Speaking of which, there one just a week away so they were all studying up hard. It was only two weeks in, but Anne knew better than to take these things lightly.

Marceline rolled her eyes at Anne's extreme diligence, urging her to lighten up and relax. Easier said than done. Neither of them took this class as seriously as she did, Ben was the classic gentleman and dressed like it too. Foremost an english student and sportsman. On the other hand Marceline was creatively talented. This was one of the few classes they all shared. And to Anne's great satisfaction; she presently topped the class. If that wasn't justification for her dedication what was?

At that moment a well suited man appeared into the class. None other than the university's chancellor! What would bring into a classroom? The Chancellor conversed with their professor Simon who reacted in a surprised manner. "A new student? At three weeks in? We have a test just next week..."

The Chancellor waved off Simon's concerns. Explaining this new student was the son of some important diplomat and should be welcomed accordingly. The new student entered; greeting Simon politely and taking a seat. He had a chic appearance, stawberry-blond hair with a smart haircut. He wore a brown leather fitted jacket, with a wollen vest, dress shirt and tie neatly tucked in underneath and fine pants.

It was explained that as his mother's job entailed a great amount of travel he'd been shunted around the world a lot. But he'd now decided to put an end to that, and study here by himself.

It was ludicrous, Anne commented. How foolish to start a class like this three weeks late into the semester. He'd be washed out in a week! She decided. Marceline chided her; 'Give the guy a chance. He seems intriguing.' She commented watching the new student take a textbook and take a seat at the front beside Ben and Finn.

Anne agreed; why should it bother her so much? Thankfully it was then her sister Bonnibel arrived, taking a seat beside her. Mm a chance to show how proper students work... Thankfully she knew Bonnibel had studied.

The lesson progressed not as one might have thought. The new student; 'Robin' his name was, proved more knowledgeable than could have been expected. Despite missing the first two weeks, he was not behind, but ahead? The guy proceeded to point out inaccuracies in the textbook, correct the Professor when he was wrong and spoke of historic events in immaculate detail. _Curious_ _._

Anne buried her head on the table, what was the point? Meanwhile Bonnibel took to the subject with more interest than Anne might have expected. Marceline however doodled in her notebook for her later arts class and smirked at Anne, patting her on the back. "There, there. Maybe you're not going to be top of history anymore. But there's always other subjects..." Marceline funnily enough was perhaps the most sane of all her friends. She always had a way of putting things into perspective. Perhaps it was time someone knocked Anne of her high horse. She inwardly sighed; gracefully admitting her fault. It was humbling, and maybe that was something to be thankful for? "You're coming to my gig later right? At the bar on the corner... It's my first time playing there. Some support would be nice" Marceline asked slightly nerved by her nearing performance.

Bonnibel nodded keenly saying she wouldn't miss it. Anne ageed, reluctant but happy for Marcy. "You bringing that guy again?" Marcy asked. Anne shook her head in response. "Sheesh another one bites the dust. How do you give up on men so quickly?"

Bonnibel laughed turning to Marceline. "They all bore her. Few make it past the first date with Anne. She hasn't met one interesting enough. But frankly why bother, who has the time for relationships. There are other things that require more attention" She spoke, again always the scientist. "For that matter please tell me your one... What's his name? Ash? Please, tell me he won't be there? How do you put up with him?"

Marceline shrugged. "I mean yeah he might be annoying." She replied uneasily. _'Fact; not opinion.'_ Bonnibel laughed in response but Marcy furthered to explain; "But I don't see him that much... I thought we were drifiting apart." Bonnibel simply gave one of her trademarked _'Oh really?'_ looks. Marceline rolled her eyes back at her "Oh Bonnibel, you're just too much of a science geek to understand. I'm sure you haven't even kissed a boy yet." Bonnie huffed at her as she crossed her arms, leaving Marceline to both be right and laugh vicariously. Simon snapped a stern look back at her and she immediately silenced, shying away from his disapproving eye.

Simon continued on with finishing of the lesson for the day. "Well class, that was last half of the 1700s. I'm sure some of you may feel that you've been in class since the 1700s, but I assure you, it has only been two hours. Now as usual for the ending of class, I would like to open the floor up for any burning questions. Historical, class-wise, psychiological, whatever may strike you." He waited for a few moments, which was always awkward as students would just eyeball each other rather than brave the crowd to ask their possibly mundane questions.

He sighed with the continued silence "Well if no one has questions, I'd say you guys are dismissed! Have a great rest of your week and I'l see you all next class." The class quickly dispursed, leaving _as usual_ , admittedly favorite students: Anne, Ben, Marceline, Bonnibel and Finn. They were his favorite possibly because he had known each since they were young but there was definitely something about each of them that drew him to them. He couldn't place it.

Bonnie had remarked keenly "Today's lesson was fun! With that new guy, I felt like I had actually been in the 1700s!" Anne rolled her eyes in annoyance. Robin had stayed behind as well as he understood that he had the content of the class figured, but not the logistics like grade break down and such. He joined the five other students in their semi circle around Simon, standing a bit too close to Anne for her liking. She pulled slightly away from him and when their eyes met, he apologized immediately. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." Anne quickly replied "That's okay. Oh and great job for a first day today. I mean, a lot your corrections to the textbook can't be corroborated, as we can't see into the past, but it was a good effort on your part..." She patted him on the back as if consoling a child. Robin was taken aback by her snide insult. Never had he met someone so bold!

Marceline interjected "ANNE!" Robin chuckled and then looked to Dr. Petrikov "And at that, I will email my logistical questions to you instead." Anne watched surprised as he abruptly walked out without another word. When she turned back, all eyes were on her and they were not of approval. Marceline asked appalled "Why would say something like that?" Anne wasn't sure what the fuss was about. "What are you going on about? All I did was make a harmless comment." Marceline scoffed at her "That was NOT a harmless comment Anne. He couldn't get out of here fast enough after you said that." Marceline was baffeled by Anne's utter lack of grasp of the situation. And she was supposed to be the most diplomatic of them all! Anne turned to Bonnibel, Ben and Finn, who just shook their heads in disbelief. "You guys think I was too harsh on him too?" She glanced over to Simon who stared back at her with a _dont look at me_ face. She sighed. Maybe she had been too harsh on him. She wasn't sure what had come over her. Maybe her competetive nature? She'd never met someone who could match her as an intellectual before, and the first time she does, she had to crush him at the first opportunity she could get... Whatever it maybe, that was no excuse for treating Robin, a new student, that way even if he were wrong...

Simon chimed in "You will get to apologize to him later, I'm sure. He'll be here for at least the rest of the semester. He's an intriguing fellow, that one. He truly seemed to be telling history from his own recount, though I know he can't be old enough to have actually been there. He so reminds me of the physics professor, Dr. John Smith. Very quick in wit... I'd like it if you all would give him your own welcome, make him feel more comfortable..." Marceline quickly replied "I don't know Simon, that boat might have sailed already with what this one.." she pointed at Anne " ...said to him." Anne deflated even more.

Simon waved her off "I'm sure she'll fix it in due time. But really, I want you all to make an effort to be friends with Robin. Something strikes me as odd about him, I'd like to find out but I certainly can't, being the old bag of bones I am. So please?" They all agreed to for Simon, as he was their favorite teacher and old time friend.

Anne, Marceline and Ben headed out as the two took turns jabbing at Anne's jealousy of Robin. Simon asked Bonnie and Finn to stay back to talk for a quick chat. When the others were out of earshot, Simon looked to Finn; "Finn, I know you are falling behind. You aren't able to answer any of the questions I ask in class, which means you must not be up to date on the readings. Is that true?"

"Yeah, I've just been kinda busy with practice since we are ramping up for the season and remembering all the dates and stuff is hard." Finn replied as he absentmindedly scratched his head. Simon sighed "Yes I understand that Finn, but to be able to keep your grades up to play, you have to do well in this class. That's why for this upcoming project, I'm assigning you to be Bonnibel's partner."

Bonnie asked confused "But why? Why not have Anne do it? She's better at teaching than I am. Plus I have my experiments..." Simon shook his head; "Yes, Anne is a great teacher, but you can be too. You have that potential, you just need..." He eyed Finn knowingly "...practice. And this would be great way to get you out that lab of which you spend all of your waking hours in. It's good to branch out Bonnibel, it truly is. " Bonnie sighed and conceded. Simon thanked her and Finn for their understanding and they all walked out together. Simon had to rush off to prepare for a fancy dinner with his his fiancee, Betty, another proffessor of theirs. Finn offered to walk Bonnie to her lab, but she politely declined. She continued to ask "Will you be coming to Marceline's opening night at Henry's, tonight?" Finn answered "Oh yeah, Ben was telling me about that. Yeah I was gonna go."

"Okay, so we can maybe discuss the project a little more then?" Finn nodded "Works for me. I'll see you then, then!" They parted ways with Bonnie going up to her lab and Finn heading back to practice.

.

.

.

Some hours later that evening the goup gathered at Henry's for Marceline's opening night. The night had started off slowly, but with each song and Marceline's growing confdence the joint was now bustling with cheering people. The trio had started the night at Marceline's having a couple drinks to help loosen her up for this important evening. With the night properly set off, Ben and Finn opportunely arrive. "Ah how good of you to grace us with your presence." Bonnibel commented annoyed by their late arrival. "Come, we should make some effort to discuss our project. Now; before Marceline finishes and makes me drink more." Bonnibel laughed pulling him off to somewhere quieter for conversation.

Ben apologized for being weighleighed, explaining his long time girlfriend had required him elsewhere. Anne couldn't help but be amused; finaly seeing her sister drag away a guy, only it to be in the name of academics. "She's doing great." Ben commented of Marceline. She had the crowd at ther fingertips.

Anne nodded in agreement; though she wished it could have been with more enthusiasm. Honestly the day had felt awful, a pit had opened in her stomach and she felt completely dismal. Not sick... but ashamed. How could she have reacted to a new student in such a way? It was out of character...

Ben had been a childhood friend and could always pick up on when she was bothered. He noticed; brushing her arm to grab her attention in this loud environment. "Robin's actually a pretty decent guy, from the short while I spent sitting by him in class today. I think he'll be forgiving."

He shouldn't need to be forgiving Anne internally screamed at herself. If she hadn't been so overzealous and stopped to think for a moment on how she was outwardly effecting others... It wouldn't have happend. She couldn't decide why she'd felt so threatened by his intellect. Something about him just threw her.

Towards the bar voices rang out in what sounded a raised and heated conversation of somesort. The barman had become angered and pointed a finger angrilly... at the new guy. "I don't understand. Do you use the decimal system or not? And what currency for that matter. I'm sorry I'm not more familiar with your customs here..." Robin calmly explained taking out his wallet and sorting through several different currencies from who knows where.

" **Look mate. Don't try to be funny with me! Now hurry up and pay for your drink or i'll see to it the bouncer shows you on your way. Be quick about it, I have other people to serve!** " The Barman was becoming enraged by Robin's odd behaviours. Instinctfully Anne rushed over, payed for the drink and sent the barmanon on his way, satisfied.

"You're really not from around here are you?" Anne stated bemused. She shook her head. "Doesn't even matter. I'm so sorry for how I treated you earlier today; it was inexcuseable of me, I really have no idea what came over me."

Robin looked at her with a furrowed brow, shocked by this sudden turn around but none the less thankful for it. He breathed a deep sigh and smiled back warmly. "Well I accept your apology. You really didn't have to buy me a drink though; I had that handled."

Anne was quite bewildered but chose to be tactful for a change. "That was handled? Nevermind it. I think I owed you one. And I thought it wise we should get to talk after today. So may we start over?"

As they shook hands properly, Anne inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness she might have corrected this wrong. Looking him face to face now, she couldn't understand how she had treated him so unfairly earlier. He had such a friendly face; easy eyes. He had a smart, but cool geekieness. That brown leather jacket, woolen vest and tucked in tie. He had such a timeless, classic chic look about him that just oozed sophistication. No wonder Ben had immediately become friendly with him. They were both classic gentleman. "You know, your professor... Simon, emailed me several copies of past essays to help me get up to speed on what was expected in our upcoming assignment. He said that they were the finest examples he had to offer... Yours. Each of them written by you. Perfectly. You made sound arguments and conclusions. Oh you must have spent some time digging through your sources! There were ones's there even I hadn't heard of." Robin spoke so kindly; full of praise and admiration. It only made her feel more guilty. How had she reacted so harsly to him initially? He was nothing but kind. "It's not often I meet such a brilliant mind."

Anne tried not to blush upon his kind praise. "... Thank you. Really, I don't think I deserve such applause." She insisted. Why could she have not made friends with him sooner, avoided all those 'unpleasantries'. His compliments wore well, very well. So well she let him buy her a drink. Which he managed to pay for properly this time. He was a fast learner. Their conversation flowed on and on. It turned out there were few places he hadn't visited in his lifetime. Anne wasn't sure she'd ever met someone so worldly, with such an open mind nor anyone so forgiving. Such an unquestionably brilliant intellect. As thier conversation moved they realised just how many classes they now shared. Anne told him of her classes and interests and he recalled his own in turn. Even going so far as to write down answers to several complex chemical equations which had troubled her, all from his memory, written down onto a napkin for her.

As their talk carried so far as family Robin drew the conclusion; "So Bonnibel's your sister? Ah I wouldn't have initially realised." Robin said glancing to her beautifuly long and straight brunnette hair. Noting how it clearly contrasted her younger sister's bright pink wavy hair.

Anne nodded. "I changed it." She replied cautiously, hitting a slight nerve. Anne was rather more reserved than her younger sister. They contrasted eachother immensley. Sure they both shared a clever mind but they each had their unique fields of expertise. Their own character quirks and interests. Bonnibel was a lot more outgoing and social; compared to her quieter older sister.

"It's nice to go under the radar. Believe me I know." Robin, almost empathically related. He brushed his hand through his hair showing off his strawberry blond hair. It wasn't exactly the most subtle shade. But he wore it in such a smart, refined manner that tied well with his well dressed attire. "I prefer to sit back, go unnoticed, watch and analyze." Anne nodded agreeing completely. "For instance, you take psychology right, tell me what you can read of those two sitting over there." Robin pointed to none other than Finn and Bonnibel sitting at a table on the far side of the room.

They were discussing ideas on what to do their histroy project on. Bonnie knew it must be something that would be engaging enough for Finn to want to do. She easily picked up on his knight in shining armour desire, so she talked about the different kings who went into battle with their men.

 _Anne made a point to say "Well knowing my sister, she probably is expecting to do all the work, and so she_ _'_ _s just laying out ground rules of what she has estimated to be an interest for him so then he_ _'_ _ll want to do some of it..."_

Finn had enthusiastically chimed in "What about King Arthur? I've never had much interest in history, except when he is mentioned. He did a lot, but is also shrouded in mystery. He is taled as a great warrior, but was he real? Was he actually magic in some way? It would give us a good segue to give our own version of what happened. I'm sure Simon would think it creative."

 _"He would like to impress her with the more so narrowed history that he knows_ _extensively_ _in addition to posing a project that would be unique on its own as he understand_ _s_ _her desire to be the best_ _._ " _Anne determined._

Bonnie smiled warmly at this, she could tell Finn had known most likely everything there was to know about King Arthur and was very proud of it. It reminded her of herself when she was confident in knowledge.

 _Anne commented_ _;_ _"His knowledge looks to have impressed her! She_ _'_ _s never smiled at any boy like that before. Usually scoffs and waves them off_ _._ _"_

"I think that is a great idea, Finn! Maybe we could ask for an extension of time so we can get more into the nit and grit of it! We could act out the various wars he was involved in. And considering magical abilities, we could find practical explanations for them...like his sword Excalibur and how it may have actually been made with a mixture of a special alloy and carbon nanofibers which gave it immeasurable strength..." Finn watched her, seeing the gears already set into overdrive with different ideas on their obiviously now decided project on King Arthur. He shook his head, slightly amused.

This caught her attention and she asked "What?" with a confused/worried look on her face.

 _Anne_ _warily comm_ _en_ _ted;_ _"Now I think she is concerned that she may have said or done something strange. Maybe he that_ _'_ _s why he was laughing_."

Finn quickly answered; "Oh its nothing. I just thought that you seem to like school a lot, what subject would be your favorite and why?" Bonnibel's eyes lit up when she heard his question "You really shouldn't have asked!" She laughed as she touched his arm lightly. She immediately went on into extreme detail about biology, her favorite subject. Finn was able to recognize a few simple words like cell, follicle, but the rest were a blur. He mainly admired her knowledge and thirst for more, which only made her more... beautiful.

 _"Oh wow! She initiated playful contact! That_ _'s_ _a little forward for her! And him, I think h_ _e'_ _s stopped listening, Bonnie can be overwhelming, but he_ _'_ _s completely dazed by her. Just look at him."_

They laughed turning back to eachother. "Not a bad assesment." Robin chuckled. Talk inevitably came to his mother. Robin seemed to shy away from the subject. Explaining she was a diplomant, her work mostly classified, even he didn't know exactly what she did other than she worked trying to maintain peace and avert war. In these times that was incredibly dangerous, Robin noting it brought her in harms way all to often.

Anne gulped, turning to her wine glass and taking a sip. "I'm sorry, that must be worrying for you." Robin simply nodded. She couldn't help but admire such work, it being exactly what she had herself envisioned doing. Sensing it an uneasy topic, Anne stirred away from it. Before long they were onto far more enjoyable topics. Time flew, as she found herself scribbling equations down on a napkin with Robin she couldn't help but grin ecstatically and wonder when she'd ever enjoyed the company of such an intellectual equal.. Passers by looked dismissively of their odd behaviour, laughing that they didn't know how to let loose. But this was how she opened up. This was her langauge as much as any spoken one. There were so few others she could talk with in such a manner. No one else her age who truly rivaled. No one to call her intellectual equal. _Till now?_

Reaching for her wine Anne accidentally knocked it over. "Whoops. I might have had a bit too much." Robin quickly mopped it up with some serviettes before it could spill on her dress.

"Nevermind that. Perhaps we should switch to water for a while?" Robin laughed pouring them each a glass of the completely non-alcoholic substance.

Anne looked at him surprised. "Wow; most guys would have taken the chance to get me drunk." She voiced her shock; thankful for his politeness. _'I'm not most guys.'_ Robin replied gallantly.

After much time, the bar was closing down and Marceline had finished playing. She stumbled over tiredly but glowing with energy from her performance. She rested a hand on each of their shoulders jarring them from their intense conversation. "Sorry to disturb..." Marceline laughed, pleased to see them getting on well together, despite the difficulty earlier.

"Shots!" Marceline shouted to the barman. _Oh dear..._

 **A/N:**

Hello! I am Red Bull, now 'Engine of a Dream' and I, Spazzy, have written this wonderful collaboration for you guys! It is loosely tied to " Tales of Catharsis" so its a recommended read, though you won't really need that background until later in this story. If you have read "Tales of Catharsis", you maybe highly disoriented right now. Don't be alarmed, that was the intention. Continue reading and it will all make sense.

We have much more in store for you and we are really excited to continue writing! Sorry for being out of the loop for the longest, but school, school, school! See you in the next chapter!


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